Recent years have witnessed ever increasing quantities of carbonated beverages, such as beer and carbonated soft drinks, being typically packaged in amounts of up to twelve (12) ounces in metal cans and particularly in metal cans with ends that include a score line defined opening panel therein to provide implement free access to the contents. Such opening panel containing can ends are generally called "easy open ends" and include several variant basic constructions. Among such variant basic constructions is a first type wherein the score line completely circumscribes the opening panel to render the panel completely separable from the can end as exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,254,790 and 3,281,007. Another variant is a second type wherein the score line only partially circumscribes the panel to render the latter only partially severable from the can end and to thus remain in attached relation within the can after the pouring opening has been formed. Included among the variant constructions of the second type are those that include a manually displaceable lever member to fracture the score line and to pivotally displace the hinged opening panel to a location within the can body, as exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,024,981 and 4,148,410. Such variant constructions of the second type also include can ends in which the lever member is dispensed with, and score line fracture and inward panel displacement is initiated by application of direct finger pressure on, or adjacent to, a circular score line, as exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,929,251, 3,997,076 and 3,977,341. As mentioned above, all such opening panels are conventionally perimetrically delineated by score lines of decreased metal thickness.
A further construction of this second type is employed in non-beverage containers and includes can ends having an arcuate score line configuration that only partially circumscribes the full extent of the can top so as to define a hinge area to retain the partially severed opening panel in an attached and outwardly displaced relation with respect to the can contents, as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 3,172,558.
In order to extend the use of easy open can end constructions to larger volume containers, the art has suggested the utilization of a cap assembly to close and reseal the opening defined by a score line defined panel. Among the objects of such cap utilization are a re-closure of the container to prevent loss of liquid content and a resealing of the container to limit further losses of the dissociable gases, i.e., the "carbonation", in the remaining liquid content. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,580,692 and 4,648,528 disclose suggested constructions for such a resealable closure cap assembly in association with a selectively contoured pouring spout construction to cooperatively accommodate such resealable closure and to retain the advantages characteristic of the "easy open end" constructions. More recently, U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 338,095, 338,096 and 338,310 have disclosed improved structures for a resealing cap assembly for use with a selectively contoured spout assembly of the general type disclosed in the above noted U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,580,692 and 4,648,528.
Experience to date with the resealable cap and can end construction disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,580,692 and 4,648,528, and in the aforesaid patent applications, the disclosure contents of which are herein generally incorporated by reference, has indicated that some difficulties may be encountered by some users in effecting implement free opening of the container. Such difficulties appear to be attributable to effecting optimum location of the point of finger pressure application relative to the score line defined opening panel and in the undue amounts of digital pressure required for effecting score line fracture and panel displacement inwardly of the can particularly when such finger pressure is applied at locations other than the desired optimum location therefor.